No Dog Day Afternoon, They're A Night Group

HALIFAX — Despite the cult following of Dog Day Afternoon, Halifax's Dog Day have little to say about Al Pacino's 1975 flick. Aside from the romantic connotations, the two couples who comprise the band have spent the past year touring extensively through Europe and Canada in support of last year's Night Group.

"The name represented how we felt recording at Common Ground," says bassist Nancy Urich. "We recorded exclusively at night.

"We'd go into the studio around 10 p.m. and not leave until 3 a.m. We became a group who only met at night. We party at night. It fit."

What began as a matrimony between buzz bands The Burdocks and The Hold has evolved into a local legacy that proves indie culture can lead to a full-time profession. It's just not quite a typical day job, per se.

Casey Spidle, Seth Smith, Crystal Thili and Urich were house-sitting in 2005. But when they weren't watering plants and keeping an eye on things, Smith figured he'd let the then-afternoon group hear some of his songs. After one too many slurps of whiskey, the band recorded their debut EP, Thank You.

"We didn't really know Casey and Crystal then — obviously not as well as we know them now," says Urich. "We burned 10 to 15 copies of the recording for a few friends. Somehow CKDU must have got a copy, and suddenly everyone was into it."

The band made quite a splash, garnering attention from across the Atlantic and signing with Germany's Tomlab Records. During Dog Day's original inception, everyone except Smith began experimenting with different instruments. It's this sort of acute naivety and instinctual inspiration that gives Dog Day their raw quality. Their live show merely reiterates this cosmic creativity.

"The whole experience seems like a scattered and pleasant dream now," says Smith of their extensive touring. "We've toured across Canada and the States for two more months, which has been great, but a little more raw and dirty.

"By this point, all motel rooms are starting to look the same and feel a little too close to home. Long drives can really get to you physically and mentally. By the time you hit a show and you've driven, say, 10 hours, your body feels like a worthless blob and your mind is numb from falling in and out of consciousness the whole ride."

While Dog Day were home recently to supposedly enjoy some down time, they ended up crafting more than a dozen new songs. Recording is on the horizon, but details are vague at this point.

"We're not playing these new songs at shows just yet," says Urich. "We played one of them recently, but it's been rewritten since. We're not quite sure where and when we'll record them, hopefully when we get back from this Ontario tour."

Catch Dog Day in these cities:

Feb. 27 Fredericton, NB @ Elwood's
Feb. 28 Quebec, QC @ Velvet
Feb. 29 Montreal, QC @ Quai Des Brumes
March 1 Ottawa, ON @ Mavericks
March 4 Barrie, ON @ Foundation
March 5 London, ON @ London Music Club
March 6 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern (ChartAttack CMW showcase w/Immaculate Machine, Katie Stelmanis, Plants And Animals and The Acorn
March 7 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
March 13 Halifax, NS @ The Seahorse